From Wall Street to Watercress

It wasn’t something she envisioned back in her days as a
Dickinson student, but 13 years and two very different, successful careers
later, Lauren Keiper Stein ’02 is
right where she wants to be.

Stein will visit Dickinson Monday, Nov. 16, to talk about
her path from Wall Street to a major news bureau to cookbook authorship, and
how her Dickinson education helped prepare her for each stop along the way
(Stern Center Great Room, 4:30 p.m., also available online via live stream). She’ll also deliver an interactive
cooking demonstration (Stern 102, 5:15 p.m.), preparing a farm-fresh dish straight
from the pages of her new book. All are welcome to attend.

It’s a delicious homecoming for the former international
business & management major and study-abroad student whose
professional journey began with a job at a Washington, D.C.,
financial-consulting firm. Four years later, Stein moved to Wall Street, where
she worked for two years until the financial crisis hit in 2008—a watershed
moment in the industry and an ideal time to reassess long-term goals.

Realizing her love of writing, Stein enrolled in a master's program in financial journalism at Boston University and embarked
on her second career—as a journalist for Reuters, covering breaking national
news and the New England beat as part of the worldwide news service’s Boston
bureau. She and husband Eric also began to raise a family, and two years
in, she transitioned to a busy freelance writing career, which allowed her to
spend more time with daughter Abigail, now 3.

Stein also spent a lot of time in the kitchen,
preparing healthy food for her family. That led to career No. 3.

While pregnant with her second child (Jackson, now 9
months), Stein developed recipes around fresh, local ingredients that would
appeal to all members of her growing family—and that a busy parent and
professional could prepare with minimal fuss and stress. The result is Fresh Made Simple, a 200-page, 76-recipe
cookbook (Storey Publishing), released last month, and featured in the October
edition of O, The Oprah Magazine.

Each dish is built with fresh, local ingredients,
and most are vegetarian, though there are helpful tips on how to incorporate
chicken, fish and beef. Some are inspired by her days as a Dickinson
study-abroad student in Mexico. All are accompanied with watercolor-and-ink
illustrations that artfully explain every step along the way.

“My hope is that the illustrations make
[cooking] more approachable and remove some of the worry a cook might have,”
says Stein, noting that because the emphasis is on fresh ingredients, rather
than precise measurements, cooks are encouraged to modify amounts according to
their own tastes. “The idea is that it’s OK to relax and get creative—and even
a little messy—in the kitchen.”

Perhaps most importantly, because the recipes
are simplified and can be made with basic cooking tools—a saucepan and oven, a
spatula or knife—they are easy make, share and enjoy with friends (and even
small children; her toddler, Abigail, regularly helps plan and prepare meals).

“It’s about being able to make good, fresh food, literally in
minutes,” Stein says, “but it’s also about really enjoying making, savoring and
sharing delicious, healthy food with your family or friends.”

Stein’s visit kicks off International Education Week at Dickinson,
which also includes an international-flag Guess It! Game (Nov. 17 and 18),
an international-flag ceremony and a South America study-abroad info session (both
on Nov. 19) and an international movie night (Nov. 20).